A planning application has been put in to the borough council to knock down the Bingo Hall in Hinckley and turn it into a car park.

The controversial proposal, put forward by owner of the building, Andrew Tyler, is for the demolition of the existing bingo hall and the construction of a new car park to serve the proposed new food retail store, thought to be Iceland, which has already been granted planning approval.

The art deco building was constructed in 1929 and was originally used as a cinema.

The application, which is linked to a previous application from 2011, also promises to keep the shops on Rugby Road and the front of the building on the corner of Rugby Road and Lancaster Road. It proposes that this could be used as a retail unit with a further planning application.

The new car park will have 42 parking spaces, three disabled spaces and two spaces for goods delivery vans. There will be a cycle store shelter to the south of the car park next to the proposed retail store. Access to the car park will be from the existing access off Lancaster Road, though it will need some alterations to allow for two way traffic.

The applicant stated he was hopeful that the development should benefit the local economy both during its construction and also after completion by attracting visitors to use the retail store to which the car park is related together with the jobs created.

But many people don’t want to see the building destroyed.

Vaughan Cartwright, an events organiser from Hinckley is passionate about keeping the Bingo Hall in the town and using it as a community space for events.

He said: “At the moment I am trying to get hold of the owner. I’d like to see it be used for events for things like live music and comedians. I have contacts and I know we could get people like Ministry of Sound or someone like that playing there or stand up comedians.

“We could even use it for local bands to play.

“I think this would help the nighttime economy. There is nothing in the town for the 16 plus generation and they are the ones with the money - I know because they are willing to pay £20 to go to Nuneaton in a taxi for a night out.

“I see it as a bit like the Athena in Leicester.

“It’s such a lovely space inside, it would be such a shame to knock it down.

“The trouble is the only people who know how beautiful it is are the bingo players. I am sure if people knew what it was like inside they would be outrages. It’s an art deco building and it still has all the original rigging inside.”

The building is currently used for storage by Indigo Home owner Darran Brown. He said: “Something should be done to save it. The building is gorgeous inside. Personally I think the council should buy it and leave it to the community.”

A spokesperson from the borough council said that they had looked into making the bingo hall a listed building in the past but were unsuccessful.

A spokesperson from Iceland said: “Iceland are in discussions to build a new store and relocate to an adjoining site. This is still subject to the local council agreeing to provide compensation to us for the costs involved in the move.”